January 6, 2021.
TED NewsDesk, New Delhi: School bags have always posed a problem to students in terms of physical as well as mental health. A heavy school bag not only weighs down a child’s shoulders but also their minds. Keeping this in view, the government of Delhi has decided to implement the new ‘school bag policy’ to put an end to burdensome school bags. This new policy is in accordance with the objectives of the National Education Policy, that of giving the students a healthy and less stressful environment of learning.
According to the Directorate of Education (DoE) in a communique to principals of schools in Delhi, “Heavy school bags are a serious threat to the health and well-being of school students. These have adverse physical effects on the growing children which can cause damage to their vertebral column and knees. Moreover, in the schools which are functioning in double or multi storey buildings, children have to climb the stairs with heavy school bags which further aggravates the problem.”
The Ministry of Education in a notification last month, had introduced the school bag policy. The government has made several recommendations to the schools:
- Kids of pre-primary classes should not carry any textbooks to school.
- Classes 1 and 2 should only carry one notebook to school for all the subjects.
- Schools to regularly check schoolbags to make sure students are not carrying extra baggage.
- Make sure parents and students are acknowledged about the appropriate kinds for school bags that would reduce physical stress.
- Make sure students wear both the straps of the school bags.
“The load of school bag is increased by bringing textbooks, guides, homework or classwork notebooks, rough work notebooks, water bottles, lunch box, and sometimes the heavy weight of the school bag itself. The number of textbooks in different classes should not exceed the number prescribed by the statutory bodies,” the notification mentioned.
The school administration should make the time table such that students do not have to carry a heavy load of books and notebooks to school each day. The notification further said, “For other classes, there shall be one notebook for each subject for exercises, projects, unit tests, experiments, among others, which the students need to bring as per the timetable.”
It also stated that students should not be asked to bring extra reading materials or books to the school, only what is required by the time table. Additionally, the school bags should not weigh more than ten per cent of the total body weight of students from classes 1 to 10.
Such measures would ensure students do not feel so much pressure of studies that it should start taking a toll on their minds and bodies. Only then can they actually concentrate on their studies and gain a holistic education.
Source: Hindustan Times
